Two arrested after convenience store robbery, chase

James Eric Gibbons, left, 17, and Evan Terry Ramsey, 17, both of Augusta, were charged in connection with the armed robbery of a Martinez convenience store and a brief chase with deputies early Tuesday.

Two Augusta teens were arrested early Tuesday after authorities say one robbed a Martinez convenience store at gunpoint and then led deputies on a brief chase.

James Eric Gibbons, 17, of Sasser Lane, and Evan Terry Ramsey, 17, of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, were charged with armed robbery and are being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to Columbia County sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris.

The clerk of the Circle K at 403 S. Belair Road told authorities that a man, later identified as Gibbons, came into the store at about 1:40 a.m., produced handgun and demanded all of the money from the register, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident report. The clerk gave the robber the money and he left.

A deputy, who was pulling up to the gas pumps as the clerk called 911 and another witness saw Gibbons leave the store with a red bandana over his face and walk briskly toward Belair Road, according to the report.

As deputies were en route to the store, one spotted a Honda Civic with no tag traveling north on Belair Road. The driver, later identified as Ramsey, led deputies on a brief chase, which ended on Casa Linda Drive where deputies used spike strips to stop the car, Morris said.

Ramsey was immediately arrested and Gibbons, who was the passenger, ran. A sheriff’s office canine found Gibbons hiding under a nearby porch, Morris said.

A Ruger .22-caliber handgun and cash from the store were found on the passenger floorboard of the Honda, which was reported stolen from North Augusta on April 19, Morris said.

In addition to armed robbery, Gibbons is charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and theft by receiving stolen property. Ramsey also faces charges of theft by receiving, driving without a license, reckless driving and fleeing and attempting to elude, Morris said.